Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny performs during the first of two closing concerts of his international tour ‘Debí tirar más fotos’ this Saturday in San Juan, Puerto Rico. EFE/ Thais Llorca
San Juan, Aug 22 (EFE) – Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny returned “home” this Saturday and performed for his compatriots to “bring joy” and “hope and strength” to defend Puerto Rico, in the first of two concerts this weekend that will put the finishing touch on his successful world tour ‘DeBí TiRAR MáS FOToS (I should have taken more photos).
Chuwi, the band of four young Puerto Ricans known internationally for their collaboration on the song ‘Weltita’ from Bad Bunny’s latest album and who have accompanied the singer on tour through 22 cities on four continents, was in charge of welcoming the attendees of the show at the Hiram Bithorn stadium in San Juan.
After delighting the audience with some of their best-known songs such as ‘Mundi’ or ‘Tierra’, the group ended their recital with a call for a demonstration against the controversial luxury tourism megaproject Esencia.
The public applauded the call to attend the protest against the project that includes the construction of luxury hotels, residences, shops and golf courses, among other things, in Cabo Rojo, in southwest Puerto Rico.
“Nobody’s getting me out of here”
After this message, a video was projected on the big screen of two young Puerto Ricans praising Bad Bunny for residing in Puerto Rico, despite the difficulties the archipelago is going through with constant water and electricity cuts, which led to the long-awaited moment, Bad Bunny appeared on stage singing ‘Callaita’.
“We’ve had the privilege of singing, dancing, and playing music around the world. Countries we never imagined we’d be in, and while I’m grateful for that, I had a blast, I had a great time, I’m not going to lie, there’s nothing like being here in Puerto Rico,” said Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, celebrating his return home.
After presenting ‘El Club’, José Eduardo Santana strummed the chords of his Puerto Rican cuatro, the national stringed instrument, and played ‘Boricua en la Luna’ and ‘Pitorro de coco’.
“I can’t bring water to those who don’t have water, nor can I bring light to those whose power goes out every day, but I can bring them joy and the pride of being from here. I want to bring them hope and strength to continue defending this land,” Benito emphasized to the packed auditorium.
Distinguished guests
The artist delighted his fans with some of his most outstanding songs such as ‘Veldá’, ‘Titi me preguntó’, ‘La Neverita’, ‘Llevarte pa PR’, ‘Me porto bien’, and shared the stage in ‘Diles’ with Farruko, Arcángel and Ñengo Flow, and in ‘Tú no vives así’ and ‘La Jumpa’ with Arcángel.
The attendees also enjoyed ‘Monaco’, ‘Siempre quise ser bichote’, ‘Vuelve Candy B’, ‘La Creta’ and ‘Café con Ron’ with Los Pleneros de la Cresta.
“This chaos, this disaster, is created on purpose to try to play with our emotions, to try to make us give up, to make us leave, and to continue selling off the island piece by piece,” remarked Bad Bunny, who joined in rejecting the Esencia project and called for the resignation of the governor of Puerto Rico, Jenniffer González.
As the grand finale of the concert, three songs from his latest album ‘DeBí TiRAR MáS FOToS’, the same album as the tour, were played. This year he achieved the milestone of being the first artist to win a Grammy for Best Album of the Year for an album entirely in Spanish: ‘Lo que le pasó a Hawaii’, ‘DMTF’ and ‘Eo’.
This weekend marks the end of the tour that has made the whole world dance to the rhythm of Puerto Rican culture and has broken historic box office records, without having passed through the United States.
Esther Alaejos
